Volleyball Pushes No. 7 Texas To Extra Games

Oct. 3, 1999

NORMAN, Okla. - The University of Oklahoma volleyball team lost to No. 7 Texas, 15-17, 15-2, 15-11, 15-8, in front of 311 fans Saturday at the OU Field House in Norman, Okla. OU drops its overall record to 6-8 and 1-3 in Big 12 play, while Texas improves to 10-2 and 4-0.

Oklahoma tied the first game 7-7 before taking a 10-8 advantage and forcing Texas to call its first timeout of the match. Sooners Melissa Christman (6), Chantae Weathers (7) and Cathy Cook (8) each were offensive threats for OU has they lead the team in kills in the opening game.

"I thought we were really aggressive. We playing better and I thought Carolyn (Kittell) played great tonight," said OU Head Coach Miles Pabst.

UT regrouped and jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the second game before the Sooners earned their first point on an attacking error by Texas' Jill Gremmel. The Longhorns went on to win game two, 15-2, and held Oklahoma to a .000 hitting percentage (3k-3e-20ta). "We tried some things different but we weren't ready," said Pabst. "We had a let down and Texas jumped on us."

Oklahoma lead 6-2 in the third and saw the game tied five times before losing, 15-11. In the fourth game, Texas took an early 11-5 advantage before claiming the match, 15-8, on a kill by UT's Erin Aldrich.

"We played well in the third game and were tied at 11-11, we had a chance to go up 2-1," said Pabst. "We played well and that's all I can ask for. Texas is far more experience and mature than we are. They are smoother and hit the ball well. Texas is a big team. It was a little step, but if we want to make a bigger step we have to get better defensively, we are in position, but we aren't digging the ball."

Cook and Weathers paced the Sooners with 13 kills each, while Christman contributed 11 spikes. Cook, who leads the nation in hitting percentage, connected on 13 of 26 attempts and only committed two errors for a solid hitting efficiency of .423. Setter Carolyn Kittell dished out 39 assists and landed eight kills on 11 total attempts without an error for a hitting percentage of .727. Kittell also hustled for eight digs on the evening. In addition, freshman Liz Newman tallied a team-high and career-best 10 digs for OU.

Texas was lead by a pair of seniors in outside hitters Erin Aldrich and Sandra Reboucas. Aldrich posted a match-high 20 kills, while Reboucas hustled for a match-best 19 digs.

As a team, OU hit .217 (58k-23e-161ta) compared to Texas' .351 (68k-16e-148ta). The Longhorns also out hustled OU earning a 53-46 advantage in digs.

Oklahoma ends its two-match homestand Wednesday, Oct. 6, when the Sooners host Big 12 foe Kansas at 7 p.m. at the OU Field House in Norman, Okla.